Ray Cai

Associate Fellow, Energy Security and Climate Change Program
Ray Cai

Ray Cai is an associate fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). At CSIS, he focuses on economic statecraft and capital strategies for energy innovation and competitiveness. Prior to joining CSIS, Ray researched and published on topics across climate geopolitics, emerging clean tech, and sustainable finance for institutions including Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program, the Center on Global Energy Policy, the United Nations, and others. Ray holds an MPA in energy and environment from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, where he was an international fellow, and a BA in international studies and political economy from Boston College.

Programs & Projects

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Tech Edge: A Living Playbook for America’s Technology Long Game

Winning the tech race is not about any single breakthrough. Leadership requires competing across the full menu of technologies, developing the dexterity to build at speed and scale, and defending our domestic markets from nonmarket competition.

Report by Navin Girishankar, Mark P. Dallas, Sree Ramaswamy, Scott Kennedy, Philip Luck, Joseph Majkut, Ilaria Mazzocco, Erin L. Murphy, Matt Pearl, Richard M. Rossow, Sujai Shivakumar, Chris Borges, Ray Cai, and Ryan Featherston — January 20, 2026

Audio Briefs

What’s at Stake in FERC’s Large Load Proposal?

An audio version of “⁠What’s at Stake in FERC’s Large Load Proposal?⁠,” a new Critical Questions by CSIS’s Aaron Yang, Ray Cai, Joseph Majkut, and Mathias Zacarias. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Aaron Yang, Ray Cai, Joseph Majkut, and Mathias Zacarias — December 9, 2025

Audio Briefs

What’s at Stake in FERC’s Large Load Proposal?

With data center demand surging, FERC’s new large load proposal could redraw the line between federal and state power—and determine how quickly the U.S. grid can absorb AI-driven demand. The outcome may reshape how megawatt-scale loads connect to the grid nationwide.

Critical Questions by Aaron Yang, Ray Cai, Joseph Majkut, and Mathias Zacarias — December 9, 2025

Audio Briefs

Experts React: Progress and Setbacks at COP30

An audio version of “Experts React: Progress and Setbacks at COP30,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Leslie Abrahams, Jane Nakano, Noam Unger, J. Stephen Morrison, Katherine E. Bliss, Mathias Zacarias, Ray Cai, and Alexis Burns. This audio was generated using text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Leslie Abrahams, Jane Nakano, Noam Unger, J. Stephen Morrison, Katherine E. Bliss, Mathias Zacarias, Ray Cai, and Alexis Burns — November 25, 2025

Audio Briefs

Experts React: Progress and Setbacks at COP30

COP30 showcased noteworthy progress while exposing persistent roadblocks in global climate diplomacy. CSIS experts react to the conference’s most significant outcomes and their implications for the future of climate, energy, health, development, and the COP process at large.

Commentary by Leslie Abrahams, Jane Nakano, Noam Unger, J. Stephen Morrison, Katherine E. Bliss, Mathias Zacarias, Ray Cai, and Alexis Burns — November 25, 2025

Navigating a New Energy Investment Paradigm

Fragmentation, volatility, and scarcity are ushering in a pragmatic new normal, in which low-emission energy and fossil fuels can both be attractive. As state intervention intensifies, proactive and coherent policy is needed to align investment flows with strategic objectives.

Report by Ray Cai — November 13, 2025

Audio Briefs

Trade Deals and a New Chapter for American Nuclear?

An audio version of “⁠Trade Deals and a New Chapter for American Nuclear?⁠,” a new Critical Questions by CSIS’s Ray Cai, Jane Nakano, and Joseph Majkut. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Ray Cai, Jane Nakano, and Joseph Majkut — November 7, 2025

Audio Briefs

Trade Deals and a New Chapter for American Nuclear?

A slew of recently announced trade deals and investment agreements could amount to the most ambitious U.S. government action to support nuclear energy in decades, but key questions remain.

Critical Questions by Ray Cai, Jane Nakano, and Joseph Majkut — November 7, 2025